If there's one thing that's distinctly Belgian, it's that way they have of imbuing each batch of beer with a sense of history. For this year’s Allagash / BeerAdvocate collaboration brew, we tried to do the same. First, we got our base going: a 9-percent, 35-IBU (International Bittering Units) beer made with Pilsner malt, honey malt and rye, Northern Brewer bittering hops, and Mt. Hood and Czech Saaz as late additions. One-third of that base beer was destined for a Herradura tequila barrel, where it sat for three months. The rest was aged for three months in barrels with a more complicated history—they were Jim Beam bourbon barrels before Allagash used them for Curieux (their barrel-aged Tripel); then the barrels were used by two different mead makers, Artesano in Vermont and Maine Mead Works in Portland. The resulting two beers offer nuanced flavors that are unique to this batch, thanks to the rich history of the wood it was aged in—and what's more Belgian that that?

BAT
The base beer, an Amber of sorts, aged for three months in a tequila barrel. Smoky, with some nutty and dried fruit character.

BAM
The same base beer used in BAT, aged for three months in two mead barrels, which lend a chardonnay-like nose, some tropical fruit character, honey and some toasted oak flavor. Beers from the two barrels were blended into one final batch.

On-tap at the Dive Bar over the weekend, a confusing beer to say the least. Notes on phone.

A- Poured into an Allagash tulip from the tap with a light red body. A foamy white head, decent retention, is somewhat creamy and nice lace patches form down the glass.

S- Very laid back for me at 9% and barrel aged. Smoothed out rye malty sweetness with a spicy tequila note and even a lemon tartness-like thing going on. Definitely some oaky vanilla and smooth laid back honey malts but still not a ton that JUMPS out to me.

T- Right away I notice some Oak and rye malt feel that reminded me of a homebrew I made with a ton of rye in it, also some honey feel. Smooth malty sweetness and general Belgian yeast feel. Spiciness probably comes from both the Tequila barrels and the Belgian strain. Fruit esters. Tequila flavor really comes out with warmth and adds some needed life to it all, warming made the difference here more than almost any beer I can think of, nice smooth vanilla oak.

A very balanced and smoothed out beer. Nothing really jumped out to me and grabbed onto my taste buds. One of the hardest beers I have had to review in a long time, maybe all of these IPAs are making my brain slower. Loved how the tequila and barrel feel opened with warming. Great to try a beer that didn't feel like anything you have had before, after 1000+ reviews especially.

S - Like BAM, the base Belgian amber is quite present, but there's an odd juxtaposition of oak and and spicy tequila. The barrel-aging is definitely more present here, with that distinctive smoke, spirit, and oak character. The base beer offers contrasting sweet fruits, bread, and Belgian yeast.

T - The taste is a bit more heavy on the base beer, but the tequila brightens things by cutting some of the malt sweetness and yeast character. The combination of fruits, sugary malt, and tangy tequila actually gives this an apple cider-esque quality to it.

D - I think Allagash found the right balance of spirit and beer here. In BAM, the mead/Jim Beam barrels barely show up at all, and in other tequila beers I've had the spirit overwhelms. In this case the tequila provides balance and depth to a sweet and somewhat unexciting base Belgian. I'd order this one again if I saw it somewhere.

o - Overall an interesting beer that overall is pretty nice and worked for me. A lot of berries and sweet dark fruits to this once, with very very light tequila throughout it. Easy to drink, though not sure I'd want more than a glass of it at a time. Probably the best tequila BA'd beer I've had as that is normally a barrel I don't like, would definitely try it again.

This brew was served from on tap at The Blind Tiger in New York, NY. It arrived in a generic tulip glass glowing a honey brown coloring, with reddish hues when held to light. No real head was noted, with the faintest rings of bubbles around the glass as the liquid disappeared. There was moderate haze, no sediment, and lighter carbonation. The aroma gave chemical bitterness, and the sour lactics of a gueuze. The spiciness of tequila, and a surprising oaky strength are noticed, along with pale and caramel malts, sweat and salty figs, and additional black cherry sourness. Our first impression was that the beer was sweeter than expected, but with nice wood and bitterness to match its sugariness. The flavoring opened with apple and fructose sugars mixing with caramel grain, boozy depth, and oak. The middle showed fermented apple sweetness to the peak, adding more agedness and musk. The finish was of intense fusel booze, grape and lime sugars, herbal bitterness, and the dryness of lemony breakfast tea. The aftertaste breathed of red grape sweetness, light oak, brown sugar, and a sour fruitiness, much like the nose. The body was medium, and the carbonation was stronger. There was an initial hearty coating, with a bubbly coat. There was a final sucking dryness of booze and wood, gliding astringency down the palate. Slurp, sip, cream, and froth were decent. The abv was appropriate, and the beer drank easily.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this brew was the sourness and biting tequila woodiness that began in the nose and finished in the mouth. At times things even approached the sourness and wild qualities of the traditional lambic, while maintaining the strength of a booze, Belgian backing. This beer was very creamy and warming, while delivering all the flavoring we expected. This is definitely the best tequila infused beer we’ve had, with the strength of flavoring and base to back it up.